Iowa Woman Proves Strength After Surgeries in Viral Video

IOWA -- An Iowa woman is going viral on social media after she accomplished a big fitness goal.

WQAD's Jesyka Dereta introduces us to the woman who's inspiring people all across the country.

In high school, Cierra Kruger was at the top of her game as a competitive swimmer living life in the water. But two back-to-back knee surgeries in a year put swimming on hold.

"Because I wasn't active, I did gain weight and that really sucked. I was really embarrassed by it," said Cierra.

This was until a friend turned her on to CrossFit.

"I just thought, 'okay, I'll try it out,'" said Cierra. "So I signed up and just kinda winged it."

Winging it turned into a lifestyle. Since the day Cierra stepped into the gym, she had goals in mind to get back into shape, strengthen her knees, and do a handstand.

"The most important thing is for her to realize she can do it and get over her own fears," said Colin Cartee, co-owner of CrossFit OC3.

Cierra's fear kept her from trying the handstand move--not wanting to injure herself even more--but she took the challenge one day at a time.

"I'm a lot stronger. It's really weird to look back at when I first started to now," she said.

When she first started, Cierra didn't think she'd be able to get the handstand down. But eventually she did and it was all caught on video. Now, she's going viral on social media with over 350,000 views from people supporting her.

"So many people were like, 'oh my gosh, you're so inspiring,' and I didn't really understand why. All I did was a handstand," she said.

But Cierra worked tirelessly for three years to get that handstand. She has also lost 25 pounds and competes in the CrossFit Games. Now, she hopes to inspire others to reach their fitness goals, no matter how big or small.